The long-distance steam train was on its way to the north. It was going to be a long trip, so they had their own little cabin. It had a sitting booth against the outer wall below the window, consisting of a table and two seats on either side. There wasn’t much room to stand, only the size of a third seat. There were two beds in the walls above the seats, stretching the full width of the room. Rune and Hyde sat in the sitting booth, facing each other and leaning against the window. 

“How do you think they’ll react to your letter?” Rune asked. 

Hyde shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope they’ll be happy to hear I’m alive.”

“I’m sure they will be, unless your family is really vengeful and unforgiving. They aren’t, are they?”

Hyde chuckled. “No, they’re nice.”

“Good.”

“What was your family like?”

“Uh,” Rune hesitated, not sure how to describe them. “Well, I don’t know what my sisters are like now, but I’ve told you about my grandpa, haven’t I?”

“Yeah, you have. I more so meant your parents. What were your parents like?”

“Oh.” Rune looked out the window in thought with a hum. “I’m—or at least, I think—a lot like my dad, in personality. More talkative, brash, witty, loved music.”

“Music?”

Rune smiled. “Yeah, he played piano and so do I.” 

Hyde’s eyes widened. “Really?” 

Rune nodded.

“Did he teach you?”

“No. He wanted to, but… yeah. Lullaby taught me.” 

“Oh. Well, I’m sure he’d be proud of you.” 

Rune smiled sadly again. He grabbed his earring. “This earring was his. He gave it to me a few weeks before he died, for my birthday.”

“At least you still have something left of him.”

“Yeah, it’s become a bit of a family heirloom. It was my grandad’s first, he gave it to my dad for his thirteenth birthday, too.” He gazed out the window again. “I’m not sure how to describe my mum. I guess she was more of a fun mum? But as a kid, you don’t tend to look at your parents as people, just parents. So, I don’t fully know what kind of people they were.” 

Hyde hummed. “Yeah.” 

Rune shrugged. “I could ask my grandpa if I wanted to know more. No one would know more about my dad than him.”

“Cause he’s your dad’s father?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he your only grandparent you’ve met?”

Rune tilted his head and squinted his eyes. “Uh, technically no. I’ve met my dad’s mum too. But barely. I’ve never met my mum’s parents, I don’t think she talked to them anymore.”

“Why have you barely met your grandma?”

“Ugh,” Rune sighed. “Long story. But in short, she wasn’t a good mother. She was never home, always working on her career. And when she was, she ignored my dad. She and my grandpa argued and fought a lot. One day, it escalated so much, she pushed him down the stairs and caused his knee injury. That’s when he finally kicked her out. My dad and grandpa had barely been in contact with her since. I’ve only met her because she wanted to meet her grandchildren a couple times. But outside of that, she never bothered to be a part of our lives. Even if she did, I bet my dad kept her away from us.”

“Hmm.” Hyde wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Have you met your grandparents?”

Hyde sighed and shook his head. 

Rune frowned. “Why not?”

“My mom doesn’t talk to her parents either. And my dad’s parents both died before my sister was born.”

“Oh. Do you know anything about them?”

“My grandma liked to draw and my grandpa was the alpha before my dad. And my dad was closer to him than my grandma.”

“How did they die?”

“My grandad got killed over conflicts with another pack. Instead of talking about it like normal people, they decided killing him and leaving the pack to his inexperienced twenty-one year old son would be more convenient.”

Rune gave him a horrified look. “Bloody hell, are packs that savage with each other?” 

Hyde shrugged. “That one was. Depends who’s alpha, I guess.”

“And your grandma?”

“She died of cancer three years later.”

“Ah.”

“It’s weird, though.”

“What is?”

“Even though I never met them, I miss them. My parents always told me stories about my dad’s parents and said how much they would’ve loved me.” Hyde’s eyes teared up. “So, even though they’re dead and I never knew them, they still feel like they’re a part of my family. And I miss them.” 

Rune smiled a little. “I’ve never had family that I lost before I was born—as far as I know—but I get it.” 

Hyde smiled too. “Sometimes I wonder what my life would’ve been like if they were still alive.”

“Sort of as a what could’ve been thing?”

“Yeah. Maybe my grandad could’ve taught me some social skills.” 

Rune snorted. “Your social skills are fine.” 

Hyde chuckled. “Thanks, I guess.”

The first night on the train, Rune laid awake for a while. He stared out of the window, hiding under the sheets up to his nose. The landscape raced past. Empty fields, forests, the occasional town. The train only had a few stops in major cities. 

They’d taken a different train before getting onto this one, to get to the closest city. When they arrive in the north, at the final stop, they’ll have to take another train to Enath.

He moved his gaze to the other side of the cabin, to Hyde sleeping in the other bed. He slept on his back with his knees up; the beds weren’t big enough for either of them to lay stretched out. His sheets only covered his legs.

Rune’s mind wandered to the night and morning before. How he’d hugged and held him, how they snuggled up against each other, how vulnerable they both were.

Hyde’s hair was messy, his mouth was opened a little as he slept (Rune was surprised he wasn’t snoring), his shirt crept up to reveal his belly button.

Rune forced himself to look away by turning around to face the wall. He had enough on his mind, he didn’t have the energy to deal with however that made him feel.